Esho BaagDevi ( Welcome Baag Devi / Ma Saraswati )

For those who haven't tasted this fruit,it's very difficult for me to explain what it tastes like and what other emotions are interconnected with one bite of this fruit..Bengalis call this " Kuul " and it is known as " Ber " in hindi...Fruit of a spiny,  medium sized plant..it comes in 2 varieties - Roundish and maroon red ones,known as " Topa kuul " in bengali and the greenish,oval ones ( pic above ) called " Narkuule kuul " ( or coconut-ish ),maybe because the taste resembles so much like that of raw coconut...

Significance- These fruits are one of the most crucial prasad of Saraswati Pujo..They start ripening around the time of Saraswati Pujo..mid-feb-march..And one of our favorite jobs as kids were to stand beneath the plants we had in our garden,spreading out a big sheet of cloth in our hands,while our " Maali " ( gardener ) used to shake the plant vigorously...Beautiful green or red berries used to fall ..and we collected them and reported the collection to the headquarters ( read Mom ) ...That is the only fun part...Rest is just an immense amount of  hope that the day of the pujo would draw near as soon as possible,because we were not allowed to taste even half of a berry-The myth was we would lose all our intelligence & knowledge..plus fail in our next exams,if we eat these berries before the day of saraswati Pujo..So,we waited and waited..and stared at these delectable delicacies until the D-day,and hogged on them till our stomaches ached after they had been offered to the goddess and she has accepted her offering....We never ever questioned why would eating a fruit cause someone to fail in any exams..And such is the importance of values instilled in us in our childhood,that even though after so many years, for the 1st time in US,I found these berries in a local indian grocery last week..I carefully stored them , to eat them only after I had offered them to the goddess...

Saraswati Pujo-A day like so many other days for which we waited all year round..A day which meant there won't be any studies...because we made sure to hoard all our books,copies,pen and stuff and deposit it around the protima the evening before..The evening before,Baba used to do Ganesh Puja..I waited for the prasad which consisted of motichur laddoo...Then Baba used to bring out the protima of Saraswati,clean out the area and ask us to bring our belonging and place it around the goddess..We brought all our school stuff,my music stuff..Mom's cookery books,Dad's books..and arrange it around the goddess..Then came the decorations,alpona...The morning of the pujo, we were forced out of bed by dad...was forced to bath in the chilly morning,wear fresh clothes and my job was to help dad with cutting the prasad,preparing the chandan and the flowers...Then,Baba used to do the pujo and we offered our puspanjali ...followed by prasad..Many a times,neighbourhood kids or dad's colleagues used to come and baba used to do the " haathe khori " ..We used to be so proud...

We used to have a picnic lunch of khichuri,bhaja,chutney,labra etc..in our garden...It was just heavenly..Going to the pandal,dressed up in Mom's saree and jewellery....participating in local cultural programs or just a small get together with baba-ma's friends at someone's house..sumptuous dinner,songs and merry-making..Baba used to do the " sondhya aroti " at home..Those were the days...Oh , I forgot-We had to go to our school every year where we had a huge pujo celebration,with rangoli competition,science exhibition,lunch,cultural program and prize distribution for class toppers..Then,after coming back..Maa had these immense store of energy to start with her " sheetol shoshti " preparation- Till late at night..Ma used to cut all the vegetables and prepare 4-5 course meals consisting of different curries,fried vegetables, chutney made of " kuul " , basmati rice etc...These were offered to the goddess and eaten cold ( " sheetol ) the next day..This was done for the well-being of the children ( that's why the name " shosthi " ) ...And it tasted heavenly..My Mom still prepares the whole fare and I miss it every year..

Gone are those days..as I sit here in front of my laptop reminiscing and typing away,a strange pain shoots away in my heart,an agony,a pining..A pain which will never go away and only get bigger with each passing years..as those days moves even farther and farther away...

Happy Saraswati Pujo & Vasant Panchami !!